Quiz 28 picture

QUIZ 28

Lesser Whistling Duck - Dendrocygna javanica
This bird is a small, very sociable aquatic Whistling Duck of tropical Asia. In adults, the center of crown, including the forehead, is dusky grey-brown, with the rest of head, including supercilium, and neck and breast pale dull greyish-buff, becoming almost whitish on throat and darkening on neck sides and upper hindneck. Flanks and belly are tawny-rufous, with ill-defined creamy streaks along upper flank line. Undertail coverts and ventral region are whitish, with upperparts dark brown with rufous feather fringes and lesser wing-coverts chestnut. The rump is blackish, with upper-tail coverts rich chestnut and tail dark brown. Its common alternative names are: Lesser Tree Duck, Lesser Whistling Teal, Indian Whistling Duck and Javan Whistling Duck. The species is best dstinguished from the Fulvous Whistling Duck (D. bicolor) by its chestnut, not white, uppertail coverts, a dark grey-brown crown center and upper hindneck, diffusing into pale grey-brown lower hindneck and sides of neck, with a duller and greyer body coloration, and the lack of whitish, finely streaked, collar. The Wandering Whistling Duck (D. arcuata) has more extensive dark crown which reaches down to eye, with a dark scaling on breast, clear pale flank stripes and whitish uppertail coverts.

Bird photographed by Cheang Kum Seng.

Quiz 29 picture

QUIZ 29

Bridled Tern-Sterna anaethetus
Common in tropical and sub-tropical waters (nesting grounds in the Bahamas and West Indies), the Bridled Tern shows a white collar between brownish-grey upperparts and a black cap. The bird is slimmer than the Sooty Tern (S. fuscata) with wings shorter but more pointed, underwings and tail edges more extensively white, tail greyer and slightly longer, and - at close look like here - a forehead patch extending at least 1 cm behind the eye, as a pointed supercilium. A uniformly broad black loral stripe also extends to the base of the upper mandible in Bridled, instead of Sooty's loral stripe that tapers from eye, where broadest, to meet bill narrowly at gape. Adults of both are entirely blackish above (browner when worn) and have white underparts, but in favourable lights, Bridled shows fairly clear contrast between black crown, greyish to mid brown mantle and secondary coverts and blackish-brown remiges. In the field, the Bridled Tern has an elegant and buoyant flight with slow, elastic beats, feeding by hovering and dipping to surface or by short plunge-dive, while Sooty has stronger, more purposeful flight, with deep beats, and often wheels and soars, feeding in a similar manner. The Grey-backed Tern (S. lunata) from Oceania and Aleutian Tern (S. aleutica) from east Asia, have obviously greyer mantles than the bird presented here.

Bird photographed by Chris Barnes.

QUIZ 30

Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius

Other names: Common Rosella, Red Rosella, Red-headed Rosella, White-cheeked Rosella, Golden-mantled Rosella, Yellow-mantled Rosella, Splendid Rosella, Rosella Parakeet, Rosehill Parakeet, Nonpareil Parrot. French name: Perruche omnicolore. Extremelly common in most of its range, this bird from South Australia and Tasmania shows a whitish bill with distinctive white lower cheeks and chin. The rest of the head and breast are red, with a yellow upper belly and a pale green lower belly. Importantly, the mantle, back and scapulars are black edged yellow, creating typical scaled effect. Outer secondary coverts and flight-feathers are grey-blue edged. The female is characterized by a duller red head and a pale underwing stripe. The closest species are: the Crimson Rosella (P. elegans), with a plumage more predominantly red, a grey-blue lower cheek and a dark red frontal band through eye; the Yellow Rosella (P. flaveolus), similar to the Crimson, but with pale yellow replacing all red, except for orange-red frontal band and lores, and with some orange red markings on breast; the Pale-headed Rosella (P. adscitus), showing bill and face white shading to yellow, lightly edged black, and a scaled effect on the back similar to the Eastern Rosella; and finally the Western Rosella (P. icterotis), with head and upperparts red except for ear-coverts and face below eye yellow, with some green barring on flanks.
Bird photographed by Kevin Roberts.

QUIZ 31

Sandwich Tern Sterna sandwichensis

Bird photographed by Shawn Carey.

QUIZ 32

Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis

Bird photographed by Stephane Moniotte.

QUIZ 33

African Pigmy Falcon Polihierax semitorquatus

Bird photographed by Fabrice Sente.

QUIZ 34

Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus

Bird photographed by Gilles Willem.

QUIZ 35

Great Skua Catharacta skua

Bird photographed by Stephane Moniotte.

QUIZ 36

Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
The dark-legged stints often give rise to very difficult identification problem. First, their small size distinguishes the Stints from other Calidris, but remember that the apparent size can be misleading in the absence of direct comparison. The Semipalmated Sandpiper is the dullest species, with faint or lacking mantle and scapulars lines. Its upperparts are dark brown with dull yellowish fringes in summer plumage, less rufous than Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri). Underparts are mostly white, with a band of streaking acrossthe breast whichmayextend onto the fore-flanks. In juvenile plumage, upperparts are generally of earthy and buffy-brown colours, with a rather uniform pattern. Breeding birds show a crown initially streaked dark brown and pale grey, but wear may reveal some reddish fringes. A whitish supercilium, finely streaked brown, dusky lores, pale ear-coverts are also characteristic. Non-breeding birds have pale, fairly uniform brownish-grey upperparts, with white underparts and sides of breast washed grey. The bill is typically blunt-tipped and rather deep at base, usually shorter than in Western Sandpiper. Lenghts overlap however.
The White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) is very similar, but slightly larger and with long wings extending well beyond the tail. Its bill is short and slightly drooping, black with yellowish at base. Red-necked and Little Stints were not from the New World...

Bird photographed by Don DesJardin.

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